Eriogonum umbellatum var. minus

Alpine sulphur-flowered buckwheat

Family: Polygonaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 4.3

Alpine sulphur-flowered buckwheat is a native perennial herb found in the southern Sierra Nevada Gabilan and southern Sierra Bruneaux Mountains on gravel terrain at elevations of 2,400 to 3,100 meters. Flowering from July to September, this plant produces lemon yellow to yellow-red flowers that turn red, forming small clusters within compact mats. Growing as a low-spreading mat only 0.5 to 2 decimeters in diameter, it develops short stems less than one centimeter tall covered in soft, woolly tomentose hairs. Its small leaves, also tomentose, measure just 0.3 to 0.8 centimeters long and contribute to the plant's dense, compact growth form. The delicate flower clusters emerge from tomentose branches, with involucre tubes measuring 1.5 to 2 millimeters and small teeth of similar length.

Habitat: Gravel

Bloom period: Jul-Sep

Elevation: (1800)2400-3100 m

Bioregions: SnGb, SnBr.

California counties: Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.